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The Trees Are Speaking
To think that he managed to build the largest bandit clan in Clover Kingdom. At one point, these savages and warmongers spent their time in smaller tribes chasing after quick profits. They would swiftly ransack forsaken towns at random intervals in order to retain a invisible power over the forgotten people of Clover Kingdom. But there was a reason that they were forgotten. The treasures and rewards from such tribulations would only last so long. And such, these rogue mages found themselves in the same predicament of the very people they tormented. If only they could cross the border and reach the land of commoners. Although heavily guarded, the treasures would allow them to better mount their defenses and survive for a longer period. Hell, a few cycles and they would eventually become strong enough to take on the King himself! And that was the reason for him gathering the massive legion that flew behind him. The massive man, known only as Skar, spent the last year gathering the tribes together. Gifts of peace. Forcefully implanting truces between tribes. This man was a peacemaker and a leader to people who could barely write their own name. Perhaps if Skar wasn't filled with his own overwhelming demons, he could have lead these people to becoming a town of their own. But Skar wanted power more than to actually help. Once a man of noble birth, the King of the Wild had been banished during his earlier years after questioning the king's legitimacy. The King of Clover was a fool who paraded around under the falsehood of nationalism. He couldn't even give this country the royal family it deserved! The blight of this country brought upon by a foolish addiction to archaic monarchal practices. This attack was just a step for the King of the Wild. Claim this village and use it as a fortified stronghold. The town of Welter happened to be one of Clover Kingdom's most important mining towns. The resources they were able to gather from the earth allowed it to flourish due to the nobles and royals that would spend countless riches for a chance to shine in vainness. Plus, the vicinity to the Spade Kingdom would allow Skar to establish a backing from one of the False King's enemies. After all, the enemy of his enemy was his friend. The massive army of bandits flew over the forsaken land atop their brooms. They used the night as a shroud for their movements, transforming into a cloud of black cloaks and shining weapons that radiated moonlight. In preparation of this moment, Skar assured that his massive legion would refrain from wasting resources on small raids. Rather, they managed to procure enough magical tools and healing items to increase the chances of victory. Plus, although a prosperous town, their shouldn't be too many Magic Knights. The stars were aligning atop him for this to succeed. The town slept peacefully. The nobles and royals of Clover Kingdom had just finished their annual shopping and filled the town of Welter with endless riches. The commoners of this region who owned the mines found that this year's profits were actually higher than the previous. Perhaps due to the mysterious lack of bandit activity in the area, it allowed them to invest more manpower into retrieving the sacred gems that people spent countries on. Plus, without the recent threat of wild men, they could reallocate their forces to minor magic knights needed to protect their business from stragglers and wild animals.A true blessing that was really a curse in disguise. For the ominous cloud that approached the town was the product of this peacefulness. One could say that their righteous leader herded this miracle for the very purpose of increasing their treasures upon completion of this massive raid. And what better time than when the cattle were asleep. "There's a cloud coming." One of the town's guard said to his companion. They wore their signature Magic Knight cloaks as they sat down to a friendly drink. "There shouldn't be. The Weather Forecaster said that tonight would be a clear sky. And you know Weather Forecast magic is rarely wrong." The skeptic mage replied. He stood up and approached and telescope. "Oh...My...Go-" His words had been cut short, for his head was lopped off. It fell and tumbled to the other man who tried to dash towards the alarm. But he found his body also cut into pieces. The other guards who noticed the cloud managed to sound the alarms. But it was far too late. The mass majority of the bandit army made it over the walls of the town and began their heinous raid. They fell from the sky with crazed yells and horrific screams. Savaged beast wielding various times of weaponry and magic items that allowed them to cause extensive damage. The sound of destruction mingled with the scream of torture. Women and children tried to find hiding while men, barely armed, fought this overwhelming force. But the commoners stood naught a chance against the men of the wild. Within seconds, fire began to spread along the outside of the town of Welter. What use would it be to burn down their stronghold? Skar made sure that his Fire Mages created a barrier of flame to stop people from escaping as well as keep uninvited visitors out. The King of the Wild jumped off his broom and started towards the town square. This would be a night that would go down in legend as he beginning of his reign. ---- The earth rumbled and groaned, splitting open in several spots near the edge of the town. Several bandits watched onwards as a cloaked figure played out his magic. Eleven rifts formed in the ground, ten around the size of a man, and one that was much larger. From the rifts, men of stone and earth arose. Each had inhuman features, blades and weapons jutting from their forms in weird locations. Yet at the same time, they moved almost as if they were alive, not just mere constructs of the earth. The last one was much larger, almost twenty-five feet in height. A beast and brute of stone, he rose towards the trees, his arms the size of the torsos of the men around him. "Earth Magic: Rise of Valhalla..." The cloaked figure said quietly as his magic finished. Turning towards the bandits, "Our deal is finished then. You may use these golems as you wish. While they can't use magic, their skin is as hard as diamond. You'll find most can't even scratch their hide." With that, the cloaked figure turned from the bandits, disappearing off into the darkness. ---- "Is that smoke?" A pair of scared eyes looked to the sky as towers of smoke and flame seemed to appear out of nowhere, looming over the farms outside of Welter. "M-Mr. MAGE SIR!" The farmer yelled, now fully grasping the horror before him. "What is it?" A voice came from within the barn. Wesley Umbra had been completing tasks outside of the capital to make ends meet considering the measly funds his parents gave him. He'd just finished helping with some farm work when his employer had stared screaming. As he emerged from the barn to a much darker sky he saw the pillars of flame. "That's no wildfire..." He breathed. He'd never been in a real combat situation before. Training sure but never something like this. He didn't know what it was or what his charging in might entail but he had to try. "I'll take care of this sir." "P-please yes my daughter works in that town." The Farmer sputtered, his breathe heavy with worry. Wesley breathed, his grimoire floating by his side. He held his hand out, grasping the grimoire with the other. Circles of magic forming around his outstretched hand. A sharp breath left his body as he shouted aloud. "Abijam, I call upon thee. Full Summoning" He cried as his arm began to bleed the magic around him spiraled outwards, erupting into an array of amorphous shapes and light. The area behind him erupted with water and in moments a beast loomed behind him. It's leg the size of his whole body, the large serpentine creature roared. "Yes now just behave, please." He huffed, leaping backwards as he latched onto it's legs, clambering upwards to its scaled back. "Alright now, Abijam. Charge through and destroy that wall of flames." His mana fluxed outward as his command was heard. Water swirling from beneath the monster as it began to slither forwards through the waves, speeding to the raging inferno. The two arrived with Abijam spinning to a stop before the flames, loosing the wave it traveled in as projectile. "Not enough, fire at will." His mana fluxed one again as the beast let loose another roar. Water bubbled up around it swirling itself into balls before firing at the wall of fire. An artillery barrage of water commanded by a fearsome beast rained on the inferno before them, steam pouring into the air. The fire had subsided on this small part of the barrier. Large enough to allow for the child and his beast to enter the town. But the path wouldn't last for too long for a nearby Fire Mage fed more mana into the barrier so that it would begin closing. But from within, the screams of the tortured erupted into the night sky. The man atop the beast would have a choice...either jump into hell or try to stop the barrier and allow the villagers a method of escape. But the brave young Umbra was not the only aspirant to have heard the pleas for help as soon another figure ran up behind him and stood at his side, Richard Felix had travelled to the Mining Town to oversee an auxiliary business operated by merchants affiliated with the Felix Family. It did not please the man that he'd stumbled upon a nobleman of all people but ever the charmer he greeted him with a wide smile that would seem sincere to all but the most experienced judge of character. In actuality Richard was utterly terrified, he'd been running for his life when the bandits appeared. At first, overwhelmed by fear and terror despite his many attempts at joining the Magic Knights, he had been halfway out of the area when he'd seen that blasted nobleman stoop to defend the people. He'd felt sick to his stomach at his cowardice but Wesley had inspired him to step in and prove himself a protector of the people if a coddled nobleman could be arsed to do the right thing then surely Richard would too. True, his magic was not quite as visually impressive as that of Wesley on account of his humble roots but Felix was a good three years older and had had his Grimoire for several years; and he would prove his experience this day. While water and flame collided, Richard gently tugged at the surrounding earth, which responded to each gesture in slight but perceptible ways as he wove a succession of cantrips together without even requiring the aid of his grimoire, closing his eyes to sense slight imbalances in ambient mana and magic in order to locate the Fire Mage maintaining the Wall of Fire, once he did he'd grasp at the earth directly underneath him and in a single motion attempt to have it abruptly shuffle itself to the side to knock the bandit mage off of his feet and break his concentration, and his spell. Then with that simple if highly effective cantrip he'd turn to Wesley: "Press the attack, I'll cover you!" as Richard's Grimoire appeared out of thin air, opened at a random page as the earth around the two men: muddy and wet due to Abijam's presence, resonated with the Earth Mage's gestures to form a wet but durable carapace around Wesley, which should help stave off the worst of the flames if he were to pursue their shared adversary! The mage, who was attempting to repair his section of the fire barrier, fell onto his backside. And without concentration, the stream of mana being shared between the four fire mages was broken. Causing the intense wildfire to become naught but small fence. Still threatening, their shared act of bravery allowed a small amount of townspeople to run through the weaker flames with the help of a few straggling magic knights. The path which had been closing before the two remained open. Allowing them to make their way through should they decide. "The barrier is weakening?! What the fuck is Ar' doing out there?!" A bandit scream as he slit the throat of an older man. He dropped his body as if a sack of potatoes before approaching another group of his comrades. "Think its the Magic Knights?!" "Impossible." Another bandit responded. "We've hid several scramblers nearby. We have all night to do what we want!" And with a shared cheer, the bandits continued to ransack. To rape and murder their way throughout the village. They screamed the name of their king. The King of the Wild, Skar himself. Who, during this time, made his way towards the largest mansion of the village. By killing the lords of this domain, he could easily claim his throne. Wesley looked in shock as the barrier began to flicker, noting the man who had appeared beside him. "Richard. I can't believe you're here." A bit of excitement and ease filled his voice, seeing the older mage beside him. Richard was far more practiced than Wesley in magic and his tenacity was something to admire. They'd begun to run into each other more and more as Wesley began to stray further from the estates of the nobles. Rock solid dependability indeed. In mere moments he'd weakened the fire wall, helped rescue many civilians, and he'd provided a very helpful armor to boot. "Abijam." his voice was deeper now, unwavering. The creature seemed to understand the command as it roared again saturating the earth around it with water to provide more mud for Richard, should he need it. In the meantime Wesley had hopped off, charging his way through the fire with the aid of his earthen shell. "Richard come on." He shouted, motioning for Abijam to follow the two as well. As he gazed over the village he saw a horrible sight. Mosaics of blood lay bare on the wooden walls of houses and bodies in various conditions covered the streets. It was repulsing and Wesley gagged on sight. Then it hit him, that slowly thickening stench of blood. He panted, grasping his knees to keep himself aloft. Who would do such a thing and why? He wasn't sure but in all this chaos he knew there was one target. The men controlling the flames, one of which Richard had tripped. Wesley locked eyes with him as he began to briskly march towards him. He had no words, only action. Rolling to the side as he closed in to reveal a large jet of water, zooming past him and right at the man. Courtesy of Abijam's maw. The fire mage attempted to block the jet of water, but found himself struggling to even regain his composure. Upholding such a large barrier was too much for him. And having his concentration suddenly knocked from him meant that he would face a serious recoil. So, rather than erect another fire shield strong enough to block the jet of water, he found himself soaring over several feet. The force of the demon's water being enough to claim the bandit's life in one fell swoop. Without this man, the wall of flame before Wesley and Richard suddenly vanished. Only two other pieces of the barrier remained. Which was perfect for those who still needed escape. Villagers waited not a second before barging forward. They cared not to thank their hero or the reason they would be able to see the next sunrise. No. They simply rushed forward with a new sense of hope. Still, there was work to be done. For the screams and cries of villagers deep within the town echoed throughout towards Wesley. "Nice one Abijam." Wesley shouted back to his companion, a hearty roar was all he got back. The villagers dashed by him and out into the smokey night, keeping a wide birth around Abijam as they did. Though it was a little disheartening to not even hear a passing thank you, it really wasn't the time to be getting picky. Welsey steadied his breath and called back to Richard. "Richard I'm going in, there's people that can't get out in there. You can follow me if you want or you can spread out and see to taking out those other barriers. Regardless I appreciate the help friend." With another hand motion his Grimoire was once again floating before him as Abijam lumbered up to his side. "You're a bit too big for these streets bud, I know I'm not great at this yet but it's our best bet here." He focused himself as Abjijam disappeared in a bright blue light, but the light didn't fade. It circled around him as magic circles wrapped themselves around his arms and legs, resting on his head and back too. Another breath out as a line of blood oozed from his mouth. "Hang in there Wesley, Contract Summoning stable." He began to rush forwards into the burning town. "Lets go." ---- Lieser was about to catch the fourth rabbit of the night when disturbing screams echoed through the trees, scaring the poor creature that hopped into the darkness, leaving the young witch alone in the middle of the woods. "What's going on here tonight, huh?" She thought, cleaning the blood on her sword of the dead animals that were stored in a basket that she carried in her back. She went towards a cliff from where she had a better vision of the area; from afar, she could see the fire and smoke that surrounded Welter and a small group of people covered in bruises that struggled to make their way through the road that connected the town with the rest of the Kingdom. "Better do something about it." Lieser's sword was enveloped in dark sparks. With a single swing, a crescent-shaped slash left the blade, penetrating the soil around. Instead of cutting the ground, the surrounding earth started to crumble down, except for the area where Lieser was stepping on, provoking a landslide. On top of a large portion of rock, she surfed on the wave of dirt and vegetation that formed, going in full speed towards the town. With one hand holding her hat on her head and the other swinging her sword, she cut trees and evaded other obstacles that could stop her on her tracks or could slow down her progress. Even though it was used at first as a way to get to the town faster, Lieser had no control over the wave and, when she realized, the entire thing was about to crash into the barrier in the leftmost part of the town. In a quick response, Lieser jumped out, holding herself in the branches of a tree that supported itself in the middle of the disaster. "I have to tone it down a bit..." She said, feeling surprised with the outcome of her little trick. And as if the goddesses of luck were watching over the young witch, the wave of earth managed to collide with the Fire Mage in charge of that section of the barrier. The wall of fire weakened further, allowing more townsfolk to escape. However, that meant only those who weren't currently being tortured by the bandits within. Still, the weakening fire would allow the witch to enter without any further issue. "Shit, you're the one fucking with our barrier?" A bandit screamed as several bandits appeared at the newly made entrance. Their swords shining in the blazing fire and their grimoires levitating near their person. "She's a witch." Another replied. "We can't go easy on her. But she'll also fetch us a high price if we sell her." The eldest exploded in laughter. Of the handful of grunts, the first three began their assault on the witch. Their magic was as ragged and wild as they were. Still, the small group managed to fuse the elements into a singular arrow that whistled through the air. Wind. Fire. Earth. Water. The spear possessed considerable piercing power. In her current position, Lieser had no room to escape. Her hands were busy holding herself in the branches of the tree and the ground bellow her was so unstable due to the landslide that she could hurt herself if she jumped out to run into the darkness. Using her sword was out of question too, as it alone woudn't be enough to defend against the conjoint spell of the wild mages. Fortunately, Lieser's magic was perfect for the situation. "M-A-F-E-O-D-F-B." Lieser mumbled, each letter representing a single word. At the same time, the structure of the elemental spear started to fall apart. The elements that composed it scattered, 'm'oving 'a'way 'f'rom 'e'ach 'o'ther, ultimately 'd'estroying the 'f'usion's 'b'alance and the spear itself. The remaining of the four elements flew in different directions, avoiding Lieser in the process. She jumped out of the tree, now facing the four mages from a distance. "Not gonna happen, you perverts." "What?!" They screamed in unison. Panic struck their faces as this little witch seemed to unweave magic well beyond her current level. Several dashed off into the chaos behind them, for the legends of the witch's forest plagued their mind. Leaving only two large men to stand against this young mage. Still, the fire and wind brothers wouldn't back down against her. "Knew we should've went with the boss." The younger brother said. "Well at least we know she'll fetch us a high price." "Ha! The others leaving us all this fun. Fucking idiots." The elder spat. Fiery magic began to circulate his body. "It's a good thing I ain't sign up for barrier duty. Come on brother, lets get her." "Try not to go too overboard. Burned orders are often sent back to the kitchen." The eldest charged a fireball well above his head and launched it to the witch. However, the younger brother joined his attack with a whirlwind. Transforming the ball of fire into a massive whirlwind of fire. The ratio of magic transforming it from a regular composite spell into a regular enhancement of the older brother's scorching magic. The end result being a spell capable of incinerating even the strongest of earth magic. Lieser had no way to defend against the whirlwind of fire using the same technique as before; it was too massive and she was not certain if she could deviate such chaotic creation from its course. Without a proper spell for the situation in her grimoire either, she took advantage of the fire illuminating the dark place to run away from the attack and evade it. Now, with a better understanding of the area, she moved around as she inscribed letters in the blade of her sword with her own mana. "C-C-M-B" They shined in dark, reddish aura. Finding a good angle, she threw it with extreme force, sending it spinning horizontally against the fire mage. Ironic that the young mage of chaos was fighting on the side of law and order. But that mattered little to the Fire Mage who found himself flung backwards. But he he'd manage to catch himself, ending the fire whirlwind prematurely. Before his brother could check for help, the fire mage immediately send a flaming dragon up into the sky which spiraled downward at Lieser. Meanwhile, the wind mage took this opportunity to send forth a powerful gust of wind in hopes of knocking her onto her bum. Thus robbing the woman of her balance and creating a crucial opening that would allow for the fire dragon to slam against her stomach. ---- Kaiser walked alone through the streets of the distracted city, his head bowed thoughtfully, reflecting under what he had seen, then murmured to himself, "what was that black cloud that covered the sky?" After walking a little, he felt a strange smell of burning, and then he lifted his head and looked up at the sky, it was when he realized that the city sky was filled with smoke, it was at that moment that he realized that the city was under attack. As he approached the house on fire, he found three men in black robes wielding their grimoires, cornering a woman and her baby. Even though he knew that he didn't stand a chance against them, Kiaser drew his knife. "Cowards, let go and face me like men!" He screamed. The bandits laughed. "What do we have here?" The one grabbing the women chuckled as he placed the baby on the table. The other bandit tossed the woman over a nearby chair. "Since you want to play hero, why don't we have some fun with you then." With the bandits now focused on Kaiser, they made their way towards the armed boy. Their grimoires following them menacingly. "I doubt he can use magic. Come on runt, where's your grimoire?!" The smallest one teased as he licked a knife that came from his grimoire. "Puny little punks think they can stand against us. Let's bring him to Skar!" The bandit on the opposite side threw his hand forward and spikes made of earth flew from his sleeve at Kaiser's stomach. Kaiser was thrown a few meters by the attack of the bandit, his back slamming through the wall. He rose to a knee, but felt excruciating pain when he tried to fight back. A shocking, sharp sensation which echoed throughout his ribs. "Dammit...they might have broke my ribs." Kaiser mumbled. He gritted his teeth and re-entered his guard position. "There's no training today, go enjoy your day, it's nice out." Colby would think back to the words of his teacher as he walked aimlessly through town. As Colby wandered town he came across a young boy, cornered and wounded. "W-What the hell?!" Colby would say as he watched in confusing as his day went from calm and boring, to eventful and confusing, to say the absolute least. Colby had little time to think and even less to pick sides, he assessed the situation and took would move based on his best possible judgment, this was not a time for his fear to take over, but for him to take action. Colby would draw his blade, his grimoire following suit and floating up to his side, flipping through its pages. Colby's grimoire abruptly stopped on a page, as it did so the sword rested in Colby's hand sparked with electricity. "Time to put my training into action, I-I g-guess." Colby shot forward, not even stopping to utter the name of his current spell, appearing in front of the injured boy. In an instant, his blade swung upwards towards the closest bandit, a spark of lightning close behind the blade as it would hopefully slice through the bandit. The bandits were utterly shocked by the new runt. They were only seconds away from taking care of the useless brat and now they had another problem. This one could actually use magic. And in an instant, their youngest member was bifurcated in the step of thunder. "Fuck!" The eldest scream. "Get him! And kill the useless one!" The earth mage clapped his hand which sent the pages of his grimoire turning. After finding the proper spell, a wave of earth was sent towards Colby. Meanwhile the opposing bandit sent a rain of icicles down upon Kaiser in hopes of finishing the job. Peace. Tranquility. The young, red haired mage sat in silent contemplation and meditation within the confines of the treeline. In this tranquil state, she was hardly aware of her surroundings anymore. This was hardly Haruhi's favored pastime, but it should help her come to grips with her magic and the god she had elected to champion. She had quickly figured out that it was a strong magic at its base, with a potency which was surprising for someone of her skill. Yet she also learned that it was considerably weaker against anyone else than those who would threaten society, which she feared might drag her down someday. She contemplated these thoughts and many more as she sunk deeper and deeper into trance. Then a sound. A whisper. Faint as the breath of a bug, but it was there. Haruhi began to slowly snap out of her self-induced stupor as the voice brought her back to reality. She did not know what the voice was saying, but somehow she understood its intent. She turned her head to then hear the screams of innumerable civilians crying out. Haruhi's first instinct, never having faced combat of any sort before, was to run away and call in proper aid. Then came the whisper again. She could still not make it out, but she somehow knew what it meant this time too. Be kind. Fight for them. Haruhi felt no other choice than to obey the voice, yet why, she did not know. Haruhi ran as fast as she could towards the village of Welter, applying some magic to increase her haste through the spell, Royal Dance. Once she arrived she almost froze on the spot. This situation was far worse than she could have imagined. Her grimoire floated beside her as she took one tenative step after the other until she was running headfirst into the fray. Haruhi bore witness to a mother, clinging for dear life to her son as a small group of bandits tried to break them apart. With another Royal Dance Haruhi dashed and phased through the first bandit, locking him in place like stone. Barely thinking about it, she then grabbed a small brick to the side and smacked it into the side of his head, knocking him backward. Not waiting to even give thanks, the woman continued to flee with her child, while Haruhi held her ground. "Not one step further." She hissed threateningly despite her fearful beating heart. The bandit collapsed from the force of the brick. Impressive that a girl of that size could hurt him that much. But his friends quickly came to his aide. One, a bald stave wielding thug, stood by his side. "You little bitch. I'll have you killed...Or put to a better use which'll make you wish I'd killed you. Let me handle this boys. Go capture the other bitch and her brat again." He said with a sickened grin. The other two bandits obeyed their senior and dashed off. But rather than give the small redheaded rookie the chance to give chase, the older bandit waved his stave around sloppily. It took several seconds but he'd manage to conjure a ball of magic with considerable explosive power. He launched it at Haruhi. Haruhi wanted to pursue the other bandits, but she had tro acknowledge that there was a greater and mroe immediate threat before her right now. As he waved his stave around with seemingly little rhyme or reason, she could only imagine one thing in the works: Magic. Begining her counter, she hastily began to chant her spell's incantation. "Kings both new and old shall come to aid, with hope and justice I commit my raid. Hatred quenched by righteous zeal, your great majesty, be now revealed!" Haruhi cried out, creating a sizable rod of Holy Energy. Both their spells finished around the same time, falling only slightly behind on Haruhi's part. The ball was launched at her, and she was quick with her retaliation. She allowed the rod to grow in length, expanding its range until it came half of the distance between her and the Bandit before clashing with the orb of magic. This triggered the explosion of the spell, sending a mighty shockwave out, one which only affected Haruhi to a relatively slight amount, with the rest either going back to the bandit or just being made null. Not stopping there, she forced the rod to grow even longer, with the aim to strike the bandit in the face, maybe even breaking his nose in the attempt. Shocking. Utterly shocking that a little girl of her size could cause him so much damage. The explosion not only knocked the bandit back but also obscured his vision. Allowing her to land a clean shot against the man. He could feel every inch of his nose being smashed to pieces. And as he stood back up, his bloodied face had been twisted into that of a demonic mask. "Damn you...you fucking bitch." The bandit spat venomously. He crawled to his feet and clutched the stave again. "You're going to regret waking up today when I finish with you." Practice made perfect. And as he waved the stave once more, the energy trail it created allowed him to create a whip of mana. He twirled it above his head, causing the whip to lacerate the nearby buildings and wells. It suddenly transformed into a whirlwind of energy that struck randomly. With each rotation, he came an ounce closer to mastering its power. Thus he continued in an attempt to strike the troublesome girl. The whip aimed at her midsection as well as her chest. It also attempted to slice her arm from her body. Haruhi saw no other course of action than to stand her ground. Yet, with lacking speed, strength and agility, all she could do was allow the rod to act automatically to these threats. She let go of the magical weapon, which proceeded to hover in place and spin around rapidly, desperately trying to counter every lash and cut. Meanwhile, Haruhi went to work with her next spell. There were too many bandits at once, and by the commotion to judge, not enough help to go around. With the grimoire before her, opened to the page she desired, she began her chant, so fast a one that it almost bordered into slurs. "I call the rightousness of heart and soul, to see my foe as cindered coals." She spoke, doing her best as to keep her focus on her chant while the whip lashed out in anger towards her. The rod was focused towards blocking the most vitally dangerous lashes, whilst the less threatening ones at times reached by the rod, lacerating the young witch. "Fighting the evils who shan't be woken, I call those who can't be broken. From blackest night to darkest caverns, let me call thee starry heavens. The heavens to judge you right, leave and rid yourself from royal sight." She called out at last, bloodied and wounded by the terrible assault. But she had managed. The mana coalesced with her prayer and manifested as innumerable phantoms which, supposedly, reflected that of kings and queens come and gone. With a single wave, the phantoms began to spread across the nearby block of the town. The phantoms kept themselves within a certain distance from Haruhi, taking care of any villain so brazen to have invaded them, not due to it being a particularly messy area, but because of Haruhi's current level, they couldn't without dissipating.. A select few of six phantoms proceeded to haunt and attack the bandit before her, hopefully making him let up on his attacks. And even if he didn't, there wouldn't be much left of him within short anyways beyond either a thrashed criminal or a drained husk of a man. She could now only hope that this would be enough to ward them off. Because if not, she was dried out of mana, she had no chance in hell of beating these men with sheer strength, and she was slowly getting sluggish from the blood dripping wounds.